The power of media content

Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels said that if a lie were repeated publicly a hundred times, it would become a truth.

During the Russian Revolution in 1919, Trotsky identified the media -- like the defence forces -- as one of the key public institutions to take over, if the revolution was to be successful.

Closer home to advertising and marketing, it has often been seen that he who shouts the loudest in media wins a consumer war, regardless of quality.

However, if one were to read a little more deeply into these seemingly disparate observations, they all reveal the power of the media and its content to influence masses.

This is not to imply that masses are asses but to focus on the fact that when subsumed by information from the media, the average consumer or citizen is quite willing to accept for a fact what she hears as long as it doesn't adversely affect her life.

Interestingly, print continues to dominate in credibility over the electronic media -- the ultimate stamp of authority is "I read it in . . ." rather than 'I saw it on the . . ."

This conclusion on the power of the media and its influence on consumers' lives is both a challenge and an opportunity for the marketer and communicator in today's environment.

There is brand proliferation and parity, there is media proliferation and fragmentation, there is growing apathy and cynicism in paid-for messages beamed through the mass media.

In this context, there is a need to find new ways of communicating brand messages and creating brand positions in the minds of the end consumers.

Using the credibility of the media content is one such way. However, this needs to be done without interfering with the independence of the media editorial -- else the credibility of the medium will come under question.

It's not about buying media content, but exciting the media to write about the brand or category.

In the last decade, the Indian media have come a long way. Its role in raising issues of public concern and mobilising public sentiment on matters that concern the general good has been realised.

From just being the watchdog of public institutions and the conscience keeper of the general public, it is today a very effective medium to mould public opinion and garner mass support for issues that touch society at large.

No longer do the media need to dramatise natural calamities to evoke sympathy and get people to donate in large numbers. A mere presentation of facts and facilitating a donation process are enough to get the public involved.

The recent tsunami crisis is a good case in point where over Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) was raised within days of the calamity. This is as much a reflection of the openness of the average Indian to contribute for the larger good as it is of the media's reach and effectiveness.

Perhaps as we go into the future, the media must see its responsibility to spread optimism and hope when such events occur rather than just focus on the problems.

The fact that the media can and should make such a shift is reflective of its evolution in the country!

In many areas, media content is already playing a very active role in providing prescriptions to consumers. From being just a provider of news, the media today is a source of knowledge and offers forums of interaction where consumers can seek advice on health, beauty, home care, décor, etc.

Suddenly the media is changing from being an informer to being a companion.

The marketing world has seen and reaped the benefits of media influences many a time and here are a few examples.

Using darker shades on walls at home has been legitimised and made acceptable largely by the homes shown in the K-series. Asian Paints has quietly and intelligently driven this trend.

Consumers get home décor ideas from features of magazines on the rich and famous as much as from company literature.

Fashion trends are driven by features in magazines and clothes worn by stars in serials and movies. Ramola's bindi or Madhuri Dixit's purple saree became style statements without actually intending to become so!

In fact, the subtle influence of the media is best reflected in the growth of conversation ties in the mid 90s because BBC news readers were seen wearing them!

Pastas and pizzas shown in recipe columns in vernacular magazines as base ingredients for preparing special dishes on Sunday quietly promote Italian restaurants and foods.

Editorial content on the computer boom and the importance and benefits of being technology-literate contributed to the growth of 'computer education' brands like the NIIT and Aptech, again in the mid 90s.

The challenge for marketers and communicators is to create and identify opportunities that can make brands and categories newsworthy. Today more and more battles are not as much for market share as for a share of the consumer wallet.

Categories are competing against each other as much as brands from within. Tea is competing with soft drinks; a shirt with a watch, and so on.

Maybe there is a need for collaboration among marketers within a category to use the media to grow their categories

A few possible directions:

Product reinvention that is truly a breakthrough. Viagra needed little paid-for advertising once it hit the market place. The product created enough news by itself that got the media talking about it.

Product differentiation -- if it exists and is truly superior, be prepared to stir controversy to make news.

If you have a new form of food packaging better than anything currently in the market, be bold to take your packaging and competition packaging to an established institute and get it tested.

And use the results to create doubts on the existing packaging. Enlist the support of consumer activist groups, if possible and relevant.

Product message -- could be based on what's currently hot and relevant in the media to ride on it and magnify the effect of the brand message. Use the same language, if necessary, in paid-for communication.

This could enhance the impact of the message. Or search for a message that is based on a larger human cause that can find resonance with media reporters.

And that can actually create a larger movement that the brand can drive in the larger environment.

Product communication discontinuity -- often doing something that breaks the grain and stirs social sensibilities can be self-rewarding. Tuff shoes did it in India in 1993, which is spoken of even today.

Apple's 1984 TVC managed it brilliantly without any negative repercussions -- a very expensive TVC was aired only once and that was enough to get the media excited to write about it over and over again -- giving the brand editorial mileage that would have cost millions to buy!

Real life examples are few. The aim is to get media endorsement for brands or categories. There is perhaps an underlying need to get bolder.

A good start could be to include the media as a target audience in brand communication briefs!

Something worth thinking about.

The author is with Discovery, Ogilvy and Mather India. The views are his own.